Refusing to Listen: Are We Failing the Needs of People with Alcohol and Drug Problems?

Abstract

This paper argues that social work education in the UK has persistently failed to equip its social workers with the knowledge to work effectively with people with alcohol and drug problems. In spite of continuing criticism of the profession's unwillingness or inability to engage with substance use issues, social work education has failed to respond to the calls for better training on this subject, even when specific guidance has been issued about course content. This results in a failure to meet the needs of our service users as well as social work staff who remain frustrated at their inability to intervene. The paper explores the historical and current debate about social work training in relation to alcohol and drugs and identifies the barriers to its inclusion in qualifying and post‐qualifying (PQ) curricula. Finally it offers a strategy for improving social work training as well as an overview of programme content requirements.

Keywords:

• Social Work
• Alcohol
• Drugs
• Qualifying
• Training
• Education
• Curriculum

Notes

1. The current evaluation of the new social work awards is not designed to evaluate the curricula, rather it is evaluating the implementation and delivery of the requirements for the new degree (personal communication, Orme, 2005). The evaluation of the new social work degree qualification in England is being conducted by a team of researchers from Glasgow School of Social Work, the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at Kings College, London, and a private research organisation, Sharpe Research.